The president of General Mills at the time, General E.W. Rawlings, was quite proud in a January 1966 press release officially announcing the new products:

“General Mills is entering the snack field as a natural outgrowth of our research technology and because the field is one of the fastest-growing in the food industry.”

The snacks were the result of “12 years of uninterrupted research.” Rawlings called the development program “one of the longest, most intensive, and most expensive in our new product research efforts.” He also said Bugles, Whistles and Daisy*s had “distinctive shapes and superior flavor and taste appeal.”

Just ask Betty.

Bugles were introduced in New York, where “Mad Men” is based, in August and September 1966. Sunday’s “Mad Men” episode appears to have been set in July 1966, but we suppose it’s possible Betty found them in her grocery store.

The three snacks were first produced in our West Chicago plant, in a new 615,000 square-foot-addition. We also scheduled production in a new plant in Lancaster, Ohio, in 1966.

(Plant foreman Donald De Foy, 1966)

The advertising spent on Bugles, Whistles and Daisy*s was “the largest promotional budget the company has ever put behind a new product” and “the largest in the history of the snack industry,” according to our press release. It included direct mail, and television and print ads, like this.

The boxes for each of the three snacks were notable as well. They had a “special inner bag” to seal in freshness. While on the outside, they had distinct designs and colors, all courtesy of S. Neil Fujita of Ruder, Finn and Fujita, Inc./Design for Communication.

The packages for Bugles, Whistles and Daisy*s were chosen for inclusion in the 1965 American Institute of Graphic Arts Exhibition. They also were awarded the “Marketing Gold Award” by the Folding Paper Box Association of America.

At one point they were even sold in cans, like these, that our Archives team showed me.

Today, Bugles remains one of our most popular products, all over the world.

Whistles and Daisy*s however, were discontinued. Daisy*s only made it to 1967. We stopped producing Whistles in 1972.

Kevin Hunt manages the content and channels of the Global Communications department at General Mills, based in Minneapolis. He oversees corporate social media, "A Taste of General Mills," GeneralMills.com and the company's employee news site. He began his career at General Mills in 2010.
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